SMF

One word - incredible. I've read a lot about Martin De Candre for the dozen or so more years I've been wet shaving... MdC is probably the most expensive shave soap to acquire given the shipping costs to North America and I couldn't imagine shelling out the money in the past to make a purchase. The i...

Didn't Harris make Green Pond Sandalwood shave cream? That was AMAZING stuff!!! I think it was discontinued about 4 years ago.

If its the same shave cream, count me in!

Dosco,

Thanks for sharing your recipe.

I asked a couple of posts back for members to share their recipe successes. I have had no success bettering the MdC recipe posted several times previously.

I'll have to roll up my sleeves and get the pots out soon to experiment.

Would anyone care to share their recipe successes? I have experimented, but none have bettered the knock off MdC. I have purchased exotic butters and oils - and all have failed to live up to expectations and hopes. In fact, one of my worst experiments was a recipe of shea, kokum, mango, avocado, and...

Squire,

The soaps that I store in my freezer are fine. They are in their original boxes, and again sealed within a heavy ziplock storage freezer bag. Cutting a small portion while they are still frozen couldn't be easier.

JRTASTER, Typo on my part, as is the weight at the top. Bottom line is ratios or % will remain the same using KOH or NaOH. The Lye is just to saponify - KOH will yield a softer soap than NaoH, but the amounts of fats/oils/butters used will be the same regardless of the choice of lye, and the charact...

Castor oil added...more bubbly, more conditioning, and even more creamy!

I decided to dig out some of the creamiest soaps I know of from their frozen storage in my basement freezer and their respective boxes. I have 1kg each of Cella, P. 160 Duro, P. 160 Morbido. The ingredients are obviously listed on the boxes. Each version of P. 160 uses Coconut oil, Stearic, Palm Oil...

Hi JRTASTER, This is what is useful about a tool like SoapCalc. I can look at an ingredient like beef tallow, and see that that it has three main constituent acids - oleic, palmitic, and stearic. These same three constituent acids are contained in roughly the same proportions in cocoa butter. If I'm...

Gary, Likewise I've embraced using the recipes posted here by Chris and some respected posters from B&B to give the artisan formula a try in my kitchen. For me, its working out marvelously and I'm getting the shaves of a lifetime from the very simple MdC reverse engineered recipe. Call it some O...

Clive, All I'm suggesting is buy the ingredients yourself and give it a go. If you bought some reversed engineered MdC, well, you didn't "cook" it yourself and you can't be too sure of the ingredients or process. Besides, I found the process to be very interesting and fun. I can make a sup...

Not wanting to resurrect an older thread...but... I continue to get the best shaves ever from a reverse engineered recipe of MdC, posted by a B&B member. I take no credit for his recipe, but I can only repeat the praises of his success. Simple ingredients, so here it is again: Stearic Acid 52% C...

This is where I got the idea to add the stearic last: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaPRvKiViO4 Seems to work well for me. I add the stearic, a lot more than what is pictured in the video, put the lid on the pot, and walk away for a half hour. I have found very little heat should be needed at this ...

Gene, I followed the SoapCalc to a "T". No Stearic left - everything saponified. If the proper amount of lye is there, it should convert - if not by enough heat initially, then by cold process in a few weeks. In my case I added the stearic and put the lid on the pot. Came back in a half ho...

Chris, Are you still using your same recipe as follows ? Lard 46% Stearic Acid 30% Coconut Oil (76º) 15% Castor Oil 7% Lanolin 2% 50% NaOH and 50% KOH I have cooked this recipe twice and it is simply an amazing soap. I can't thank you enough for sharing it. On a similar note, a poster at the B&B...

I don’t know if others have experienced the same problem I have while making the hot processed soaps. The recipe I’m using is exactly the same as the Chris Moss recipe previously mentioned: Lard 46%, Stearic Acid 30%, Coconut Oil (76º) 15%, Castor Oil 7%, Lanolin 2% - 50% NaOH and 50% KOH. Exact det...

Thanks for the info. I know I can pick up Goya brand products dirt cheap in some of the Caribbean grocery stores around Toronto.

I'm intrigued and I'm going to this a try. Where can the ingredients be bought, particularly the NaOH and KOH? For items like lard, can I use the lard sold by Crisco off the store shelf? Once in a blue moon my grocery store puts out 5lb buckets of beef tallow in the meat counter... that's a lot of s...

Hi Gareth, No...It's no just you. Proraso is underwhelming. Lathers up great, but a bit drying, sometimes irritating, not the slickest, and certainly not the closest. Compare Proraso to say its better cousin, Santa Maria Novella. I have both and they are NOT the same. I would put Harris ahead of bot...

The Hanslinger Ewe's Milk is simply STUNNING in every aspect. As Gorden noted, the puck has a small diameter and can be awkward to lather. In my case I placed a new puck of Hanslinger Ewe's Milk into a ziplock bag and slowly squezzed it in a vice several times as I rotated the puck. Eventually I got...